Woman Killed After Building Collapses Onto Car In Holborn, Central London

PA

A woman has been killed and a man is in hospital after part of a building collapsed on to a car.

Large chunks of masonry fell on to the vehicle, a silver Skoda Octavia, in Kingsway opposite Holborn Tube station in central London, at 11.05pm yesterday, the Metropolitan Police said.

Firefighters freed the driver - a 49-year-old woman - and a 25-year-old man who was trapped in the back seat, but the woman died at the scene.

Next of kin have been informed.

The man suffered leg injuries, and he and a 24-year-old woman, who managed to free herself from the rear of the car, were taken to hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

A fourth person, believed to be a male passer-by, was also injured and taken to hospital, London Ambulance Service (LAS) said.

A police spokesman said: "There were three occupants in the car and a woman was pronounced dead at the scene. A man was pulled from the car and was taken to hospital, where he is in a stable situation at the moment."

The fallen masonry was part of the building's concrete fascia, London Fire Brigade said.

It almost flattened the car's roof, and large pieces of rubble were left strewn across the road and pavement outside restaurants and shops.

A further 10 people were evacuated from nearby buildings as a precaution.

LAS said it sent ambulance crews, rapid responders and a doctor and paramedic from London's air ambulance to the scene, the first of whom arrived within two minutes.

High Holborn remains closed while investigators examine the scene, a police spokesman said.